tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234310822024-03-05T14:14:50.150-05:00Mixing Home Business and Home SchoolingCan your home school survive developing a thriving home business? We believe it can! Here is a mix of encouragement and tips from veteran homeschooling mom Susan Critelli on successfully mixing Home Business with home schooling.Susan Critellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02144037647565763557noreply@blogger.comBlogger251125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-83352240118959218022016-06-10T09:15:00.000-04:002016-06-10T09:15:05.896-04:00What College Graduates (and anyone else) STILL Don't Know About America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ericpetersautos.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/constitution-in-flames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ericpetersautos.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/constitution-in-flames.jpg" height="168" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In 2009, I wrote a post entitled "The Civic Impact of College," in which I opined that studies showed that there was practically an inverse relationship between the level of education one has attained and the likelihood of civic involvement after graduation. At the time, I was making the point that studies showed that homeschoolers were more likely to participate in the political process later in life.<br />
<br />
A few years after that, I updated it with new information and it became <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-college-graduates-dont-know-about.html" target="_blank">"What College Graduates Don't Know About America."</a> While it was one of the most depressing things I ever wrote, it was my most popular post ever. This emphasized American students' ignorance of American history and our form of government<br />
<br />
Some updated information has come to my attention that does not make me feel any better about the state of modern higher education, or any education.<br />
<br />
It does not appear that students are learning very basic things about our country at any stage of their education.<br />
<br />
Let's take the First Amendment.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
These 45 words describe five freedoms that are critical to our way of life.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #e9e6e2; color: #463e3e; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 13px;">Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.</span></blockquote>
Too many big words? Let me restate:<br />
<br />
Congress cannot make laws establishing a national religion, but it also cannot make laws prohibiting anyone from practicing their religion, or make any laws that limit the following freedoms:<br />
<ul>
<li>Freedom of Religion to practice any religion (or no religion) without fear of discrimination</li>
<li>Freedom of Speech to be politically incorrect, or to speak out against the government</li>
<li>Freedom of the Press to shine a light on corruption, or to write things people disagree with</li>
<li>Freedom of Assembly as long as it does not include violence, rioting and looting</li>
<li>Freedom to Petition the Government when they do something you don't like</li>
</ul>
After you read the results of these surveys, you won't think I am just being obnoxious.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-survey-shows-one-in-five-americans-believes-first-amendment-goes-too-far-in-the-rights-it-guarantees-300108573.html" target="_blank">Survey Shows 1 in 5 Americans thing the First Amendment gives us too many rights. </a></b><br />
<a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/newseum-only-19-know-1st-amendment-guarantees-freedom-religion" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<b><a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/newseum-only-19-know-1st-amendment-guarantees-freedom-religion" target="_blank">Only 19% of Americans know that First Amendment Guarantees Freedom of Religion</a></b><br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2015/10/23/colleges-first-amendment-is-outdated/" target="_blank">Colleges: The First Amendment is Outdated</a></b><br />
<a href="http://theweeklynumber.com/weekly-number-blog/two-new-surveys-reveal-concerning-trends-for-religious-freedom-in-us" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://theweeklynumber.com/weekly-number-blog/two-new-surveys-reveal-concerning-trends-for-religious-freedom-in-us" target="_blank"><b>Two New Surveys Reveal Concerning Trends for Religious Freedom in the U.S.</b></a><br />
<br />
And these articles were from last year! DePaul University recently banned the use of chalk on sidewalks after some students objected to some pro-Trump slogans Donald Trump supporters wrote on the sidewalk. Really? That is typical of what is going on at college campuses this year.<br />
<br />
In March of this year, The Atlantic published an article about the threat to free speech on campuses. Don't roll your eyes. It was entitled, <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-glaring-evidence-that-free-speech-is-threatened-on-campus/471825/" target="_blank">"The Glaring Evidence That Free Speech is Threatened on Campus."</a> A few days ago, it published another one, called <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/06/the-chilling-effect-of-fear/486338/" target="_blank">"The Chilling Effects of Fear At America's Colleges </a>"<div>
<br />
What do you think about the First Amendment? Is the Constitution really "just a g-d piece of paper," as George W. Bush once famously said?<br />
<br />
This is a free speech zone. I welcome your comments, as long as there is some evidence you actually read some of the source material here or otherwise educated yourself on the issue. And that they don't include violence, rioting and looting.<br />
<br />
Or racism.<br />
Or name calling and bullying.<br />
Or microaggressions.<br />
Or homophobia.<br />
Or anti-Semitism.<br />
Or islamophobia.<br />
Or transphobia.<br />
Or misogyny.<br />
<br />
Houston, we have a problem.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Susan Critellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02144037647565763557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-34926054229732414062015-03-14T12:49:00.000-04:002015-08-26T12:50:34.112-04:00The Post that Almost Did Not Get Written<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktYXzMGOyy6BpnMyjCGocj4iloqrIQbGz1UWyBDwNgKgJ6CUtd8OIsvG0g4dpEMsH2erdlYdbvl5uy-SpHJ5GO8E-YcGzxMpxs9XB_J51iabQqR8wauM7iL3BV1KIopyC9Mu4zQ/s1600/break-down-the-walls-love-quotes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktYXzMGOyy6BpnMyjCGocj4iloqrIQbGz1UWyBDwNgKgJ6CUtd8OIsvG0g4dpEMsH2erdlYdbvl5uy-SpHJ5GO8E-YcGzxMpxs9XB_J51iabQqR8wauM7iL3BV1KIopyC9Mu4zQ/s1600/break-down-the-walls-love-quotes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I have been online a long time, and am active in social media and other arenas. I am supposedly "influential," if you believe any of the measures of this sort of thing.<br />
<br />
It is time to use my influence to talk about something REALLY important. Not home schooling. Not home business. But something real, that for all the talking about it still leaves its victims feeling isolated, judged, and alone.<br />
<br />
So alone.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
It has been nearly three years since I started this post. When you read it, you will understand why it has taken so long to get it written. It was brutal to write, and it might even be brutal to read. Especially if you are someone who knows and loves me now, or knew me When.<br />
<br />
Or if you, or anyone you know, is a survivor of sexual assault.<br />
<br />
It has now been 37 years, not 35. There's something about a number that ends in a 7. "37 years" (or sometimes "87 years") is a number I have always thrown around to mean "a long, LONG time." The pain has diminished enough that I recently shared some of this story with my adult son for the first time, leaving off the gory details for his sake, not mine.<br />
<br />
I no longer consider myself a victim, but a courageous survivor. Let's crash together through a wall of silence, the stigma of rape.<br />
<h3>
<br />March 15, 2014 The Post That Almost Did Not Get Written - Second Draft</h3>
<br />
I started this post over a year ago, in anticipation of the 35th anniversary of The Day. Life intervened, and I never quite got around to writing it then, but picked it up again last month, thinking I would schedule it to post yesterday. Fast forward to yesterday, I was so busy, I never go around to finishing it, much less posting it. On the one hand, that is really good. It means I didn't obsess over it, and kind of forgot it was The Day. So I decided it didn't matter. It isn't that I have never shared it with anyone. I have spoken openly about it for many years, but it's a tough topic, and maybe it wasn't the right time to write about it. <br />
<br />
Then today, I stumbled upon this article: <a href="http://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/rape/getting-raped-the-stigma-of-being-a-rape-victim/">"Getting Raped: The Stigma of Being a Rape Victim."</a> Hmm.<br />
<br />
"Not going to let this one go, are You, Lord..." I muttered. Doesn't sound like things have changed as much as I had hoped. I guess I had been hopeful that it was no longer the shameful secret it had been back then. Every day on TV, in church, and just about everywhere else, I see evidence that attitudes about - what did They call it, "mixing the races?" - have changed.<br />
<br />
But in 1978? In Atlanta, or anywhere else south of the Mason-Dixon line, it was a topic not discussed in polite company.<br />
<br />
Or any company.<br />
<br />
Can I be blunt here? I, who can pound out a thousand words in just about 20 minutes, just spent half an hour trying to figure out how to euphemistically describe the 1970's attitudes of southern white men towards a white woman who had been <strike>assaulted</strike> raped by a black man. Not to mention other southern white women.<br />
<br />
HAHAHAHA You can't. We are talking back in the day of the Stars and Bars in the Georgia flag. Neither can you describe in a politically correct manner how that affects the exploited woman: her attitude towards men in general, and black men in particular, her attitude towards happy mixed race couples in the present day, her attitude towards the reactions of snarky white women back then, and the unfairness of it all, or her embarrassment at even <i>noticing</i> race in this age of enlightenment. <br />
<br />
Why she couldn't just "get over it." Why it still stings after 37 years. Especially when before that happened, she didn't have a racist bone in her body, and her best friend was black.<br />
<br />
Like Bridget Kelly in the article, I believe it is WAY past time for it to be OK for women to talk about being raped. And if being part of making that happen means ripping off the heavy, suffocating, debilitating body armor that has "protected" me for the last 37 years, so be it.<br />
<br />
So here - finally - is the post that almost did not get written.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***************</div>
<h3>
Alias Tony Smith </h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20 (NIV84)</i></blockquote>
<br />
I weep today for a <strike>55</strike> 57 year old man sitting in a south Georgia maximum security prison. He has been there for <strike>35</strike> 37 long years. He will be there until he dies. Let's just call him "Tony Smith."<br />
<br />
It has been <strike>35</strike> 37 years since the day he changed my life forever.<br />
<br />
March 14, 1978. A day that will live in infamy. Armed robbery. Aggravated sodomy. Rape. Thinking about it is like watching an old episode of <i>Law and Order: SVU</i> that I know I have seen before, but I can't quite remember the plot anymore.<br />
<br />
But what that day defines 37 years later is no longer the worst day of my life, but the day that set the best of my life into motion.<br />
<br />
I always parked the car at the Central Avenue parking garage above Underground Atlanta. Pretty cool, you could leave the First National Bank tower and scoot under the street to avoid any kind of bad weather and hop right in the elevator of the parking garage. But that day was a beautiful day, warm enough to go without a coat, and I left work a few minutes early because I was meeting my mom at Morrison's Cafeteria for dinner. So I walked on the street, enjoying the breeze, and got to the garage in time to catch the next elevator. There were about 6 people in the elevator, including a couple of guys who were laughing and joking.<br />
<br />
One of them was wearing a red bandanna. When I pressed the button to the top floor, Mr. Red Bandanna pressed the 4th floor button. Everyone rode in silence and got off at their various floors, finally leaving me alone in the elevator. I got to the top level, and opened the glass door leading out to the parking lot. Just then, I heard this clatter in the stairwell, and as I stopped and turned, there appeared Mr. Bandanna with a look on his face I will never forget. At first, I just didn't process what was going on, but by the time I did, there was no getting out of that enclosed lobby. He pushed me against the door and put one hand over my mouth, punching the back of that hand with the other one until I stopped trying to scream.<br />
<br />
There was yet another concrete staircase that led up to a helicopter pad, so he took me up there. I could hear people talking and getting off the elevator and going to their cars. But by this time, there was a knife at my throat, my neck and mouth were hurting, and I didn't see any way a five foot, 90 pound girl was going to get away from a six foot plus, 180 pound man. Not alive, anyway. It was easier just to do what I was told. The final indignity was that he robbed me of my last twelve dollars and the little change purse that my grandmother had given me. Then I did something crazy that turned out to be the key to positively identifying him.<br />
<br />
As he fled down the stairs, I called down to him in the stairwell and I asked him if he would leave me enough money to get out of the garage. All these years later, I can still picture him looking up at me as I calmly turned my clothes right side out and talked to him over the rail. I explained that if I didn't have enough money to pay for my parking, I would have to tell the attendant why. He thought about it for a few seconds, and then said "How much is it?" Honestly, I don't remember how much it was, no more than a couple of bucks. He left three dollars on the steps and took off.<br />
<br />
I did tell the attendant immediately, and he called the police. They did come and take photos of me, though as a Golden Gloves boxer, he knew how to hit me in a way really hurt, but that did not leave outside marks. I even had to pull my lip aside so they could photograph my bloody gums. I did spend a great deal of time at Grady Hospital, and was interviewed by two detectives from the sex crimes unit. It was around 7:30, maybe 8 pm by the time I pulled up at home. I gave Daddy as kiss and apologized for being late, then told Mama I would like to talk to her in the back bedroom. <br />
<br />
Over the next twelve hours, we cried and smoked a thousand cigarettes and drank gallons of coffee, and about a fifth of scotch. We never did tell Daddy. He died a few years later and never knew. In fact, we never told anyone. And while that seemed like the best thing to do at the time, it ignited a spark of resentment that built against my mother that grew imperceptibly for the next 15 years. I didn't even know I felt this way, but I was angry that she was more concerned about my dad than about me.<br />
<br />
Of course, that wasn't true. I'm pretty sure she was afraid that Daddy would either have a stroke, or go out and buy a gun and save the Georgia taxpayers the bundle of money they have spent keeping "Tony Smith" incarcerated for nearly half a century. He hated guns, but he would have made an exception for someone who hurt his little girl. And he wouldn't have missed. He had several sharpshooter medals from his time in the Army.<br />
<br />
But that isn't how it felt to me. It felt like she thought I had something to hide. Over the last 20 years since her death, I have come to realize that she was probably raped, too, and just never said anything. When I told her, she said, "I've been so afraid this would happen." I didn't make the connection at the time, but I know her mother was raped, and her grandmother and great-grandmother before her. The only Chickasaw phrase besides "Pass the bread, Granny" that passed down through our family to my generation means "White man no good." Ride that one back into Chickasaw history, and you have a very long line of exploited women.<br />
<br />
Well, I told my boss that I would be taking off a few days from work. And I told my boyfriend. That went really well. His main concern was that I would be afraid to have sex, so he was anxious for me to get right back in the saddle. Seriously?<br />
<br />
Bastard.<br />
<br />
Amazingly, we had a call from Atlanta PD the next day saying they had a suspect in custody. He had been caught in the act of trying to rape someone else, and they wanted me to come down for a lineup. Oddly enough, he wasn't as big or scary as I remembered, and he had removed his bandanna, so his hair was unfamiliar. But deep inside, I knew he was the one. My heart pounded so hard I thought it would break through my chest. I didn't have that reaction to any of the other people in the lineup, even ones who looked a little more like the man I thought I remembered.<br />
<br />
Number Three. There are only two things I have been more sure of in my life.<br />
<br />
Afterward, they asked me to identify an item they had recovered from his home. It was the change purse my grandmother had given me. Later on, at the trial, ADA Gordon Miller would call it "The Smoking Gun."<br />
<br />
They got him! And only 24 hours later. I was so lucky. One of the women in our case had her face rearranged by being bludgeoned with a rock. Another one was attacked in the laundry room of her apartment complex after he broke down the door like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining." The saddest victim of all was"Tony Smith's" incredibly beautiful and intelligent young wife, kind of a cross between Whitney Houston and Halle Berry. She stayed in the courtroom throughout the trial, trying to hold it together, finally fleeing when they read the several dozen counts of crimes that netted him 213 years in prison.<br />
<br />
87 nightmares later, I didn't feel all that lucky. Can you say "PTSD"?<br />
<br />
If a successful outcome like that did not ease my trauma, try to imagine how it still feels for women whose attackers were not caught.<br />
<br />
Or who knew their attackers, and have to see them walking free because they were not charged.<br />
<br />
Or the ones who were abused and victimized by loved ones.<br />
<br />
Or the ones whose story is complicated by clubs, or drugs, or alcohol, or something else that makes them seem less like a victim than the little girl who was just going to her car after work to meet her mom for dinner.<br />
<br />
See, rape traps you in time. Even without any kind of cloud hanging over me that this was "my fault," I remained stuck there as surely as if I were in the movie "Groundhog Day." This incident was the catalyst that sent me packing to New York, where I tried to escape the pain. I lived there for almost 7 years, and successfully pushed it all deep down into the dark abyss with other "dark secrets." I was moderately successful on Wall Street, but like most others there, I worked hard and played harder. I smoked too many cigarettes, drank too much Jack Daniels, and acted out in other dangerous ways, unable to truly move on. Unable to "get over it." Unable to trust any men. Unable to believe that I was better than "damaged goods." I swore I would never again let anyone get close enough to me to hurt me. <br />
<br />
Then I met The Man Who Is Not Like All The Others. The One who said,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens" Song of Solomon 2:2 NASB </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:10-12 NKJV</blockquote>
The One Who "heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."<br />
<br />
And I met another man God brought into my life to "make the Invisible visible," and to love me unconditionally - more than I could ever understand, for the last 30 years. Just like Christ loved the church.<br />
<br />
Get religion? That's my definitive answer about how to "get over it"? Every situation is different, and every woman has other people in her life whose reactions will influence how she experiences the attack, then and for years to come. I can't tell you that leaving town and starting over, or self-medicating, or getting married will make any difference at all. I can tell you with confidence that God can accomplish in a moment what a legion of counselors cannot do in a lifetime. Deciding to follow Jesus was the the first of the only two things I was more sure of in my life than picking Number 3 out of a lineup. Marrying my husband was the second.<br />
<br />
But the REAL beginning of healing was when I broke through to the feeling that it was OK to talk about being raped. What I hope I have done here is encourage you to talk about it, too. Don't spend the best years of your life locked in suffocating, debilitating body armor like I did. Let's break down the wall of silence once and for all, and stop the stigma of rape.<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Susan Critellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02144037647565763557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-20067111955210876812012-02-05T00:06:00.000-05:002015-08-26T12:54:12.892-04:00What College Graduates Don’t Know About America<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ShpN7bLfGT4/SYBNbKpjnpI/AAAAAAAAANQ/cxB6yQ4ri2g/s1600/canstockphoto0141825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ShpN7bLfGT4/SYBNbKpjnpI/AAAAAAAAANQ/cxB6yQ4ri2g/s320/canstockphoto0141825.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Three years ago, I wrote the following article about whether or not college has a positive impact on good citizenship. It had the boring title, "The Civic Impact of College." ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Not surprisingly, it didn't get many views.<br />
<br />
But I think it is an important topic, and my last article about college (<a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com/2011/10/does-college-matter.html" target="_blank">"Does College Matter?"</a>) generated quite a bit of interest, so I thought it was time to revisit the question.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">The Civic Impact of College - January 28, 2009</span></u><br />
<br />
Are you more knowledgeable than the average citizen?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/2008/summary_summary.html">Our Fading Heritage</a> is the third major study conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute on the kind of knowledge required for informed citizenship.<br />
<br />
Its conclusions are appalling. But lets look at the background.<br />
<br />
In 2006 and 2007, 14000 college freshmen and seniors were given a multiple-choice quiz containing 60 basic questions about America - the kind of stuff high school seniors and new citizens are expected to know.<br />
<br />
The kind of stuff homeschoolers eat for breakfast.<br />
<br />
In both years, both groups utterly failed. And worse, the seniors only had a 1.5% advantage over the freshmen. So, basically, this means that after spending a fortune on college, the students do not gain any appreciable knowledge about America's unique form of self-government. Moreover, the more prestigious the college, the LESS likely the seniors were to know more than freshmen about government, economics, American History, and foreign affairs.<br />
<br />
This year, ISI decided to take it to the streets. They asked a random sample of American adults to answer a basic test of only 33 multiple choice civics questions, plus a few other additional questions, then analyzed the data in such a way that enabled them to compare the "civic impact of college with other societal factors."<br />
<br />
In other words, do colleges help our students become better citizens?<br />
<br />
Now for the appalling part. The answer is a resounding NO.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>71% of Americans fail the test</li>
<li>Fewer than half of all Americans can name the three branches of government</li>
<li>Only 24% of college graduates know that the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of an official religion in the US</li>
<li>Only 54% can identify a basic description of our free enterprise system</li>
<li>Elected Officials score even lower than the general public</li>
</ul>
Thirty percent of elected officials do not know that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps this is the reason we have gotten into such a mess.<br />
<br />
You can read the <a href="http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/2008/summary_summary.html">whole sad story at the ISI website.</a><br />
<br />
If you are very brave, why don't you <a href="http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx">take the test yourself</a> and see whether you are more knowledgeable than the average citizen?<br />
<br />
Then contrast this with the good news about homeschooling and civics education <a href="http://moreincomeonline.com/HomeschoolingGrowsUp.pdf">Homeschooling Grows Up</a>, a report by the National Center for Home Education about behaviors of adults who were homeschooled. According to this report, 76% of those 18-24 have voted in a state or national election within the previous 5 years, compared to 29% of the general US population, and a staggering 95% of those 25-29 have voted versus 40% of the general population.<br />
<br />
Now, in the wake of the Obama campaign and his subsequent election, those statistics are probably no longer accurate as far as sheer numbers of younger voters in the general populace are concerned, though a case could still be made about whether those who voted could be considered "informed citizens."<br />
<br />
Large numbers of young white voters from elite colleges voted for Obama. Tomorrow's post will examine some interesting information about the "civic impact of elite colleges."<br />
<br />
================================================<br />
Last time I didn't actually get around to writing that additional post about elite colleges. But there is a lot of interesting new information from 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 on the ISI website since I wrote this post that I would like to talk about in future posts.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-76403074247951990752012-01-06T13:51:00.000-05:002012-01-19T14:25:42.168-05:00Do You Have What it Takes to be a Mommy Blogger?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j0pEC6zLHhA/Txhl8Fz-9sI/AAAAAAAAAWs/AtNIfd8BdnU/s1600/blogger+mom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j0pEC6zLHhA/Txhl8Fz-9sI/AAAAAAAAAWs/AtNIfd8BdnU/s1600/blogger+mom.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Many stay at home moms are able to care for their families while making some money on the side with a home based business. But this can be especially challenging for a homeschooling mom, who already has two full time jobs: being a mom to your children, and assuming full responsibility for their education.<br />
<br />
One way to make money that is often overlooked is blogging. I'm not talking about blogging for exposure - that is a good thing too, and can drive visitors to your own blog or site where you may be able to convert them to customers. I'll talk about that in a minute.<br />
<br />
I'm talking about bloggers who are independent contractors who work for clients that need bloggers on a daily basis, or who design blogs for themselves that rely on Google AdSense and affiliate links to make money. Some people laugh when they hear how blogging moms make money, but the truth is that there is quite a bit of money to be made blogging for yourself. You do have to know how to drive traffic to your blog, develop a following for your topic, and how to present your affiliate links and Google ads to make money. <br />
<br />
Blogging for someone else enables you to receive upfront pay. This is the preferred method of blogging for many moms. You can expect to be paid a minimum of $5 for a three hundred word post up to twenty dollars a post. I have been paid as much as $50 for a blog post. You can find many blogging jobs at sites such as ProBlogger and Craigslist. Companies use blog writers to keep their blogs updated every day or every other day. If they started a blog but never update it, it will not drive enough traffic to make any money, and they need you to generate enough advertiser or other income to keep the blog running.<br />
<br />
Some moms that work at home write content for their own blogs. They start a blog in a niche that they enjoy writing about to attract traffic. An obvious example is this blog - I started this blog in 2006 as a way to talk about the challenges I was experiencing trying to homeschool and work at home. Some of the people that visit this blog will see Google ads and click on the links. Every click makes some amount of money. If you choose the right keywords, the Google ads can amount to quite a bit of money. It is worth taking a little time to learn how to select the right keywords.<br />
<br />
Bloggers also join affiliate sites to host banners for big companies such as Petco, Baby Bee and even Sears. Many people use Commission Junction, or one of the other affiliate link programs to find commission ads. Still others are members of individual affiliate programs for products they feel strongly enough about to recommend. Others are popular enough to attract advertisers who will pay to have banners or other display ads on their sites. These are just a few ways to make money blogging for yourself.<br />
<br />
You can also run contests and free giveaways to bring traffic to your blogs, and over the past few years, special tools have been developed to help you manage contests and giveaways. One of my favorite giveaway bloggers is at <a href="http://www.mikishope.com/">http://www.mikishope.com</a> - she specializes in giveaways of books, but she also gives away lots of other things. There are as many different kinds of giveaways as there are blogs. <br />
<br />
Although writing is part of the blogger's job, if you don't have any marketing experience, you probably should join forums and message boards so you can participate in discussions with a link as your signature. Everyone on the discussion boards sees this link and they can click the link and check out your blog. This is just one way to generate more traffic that can lead to more Google ad clicks. It's more writing, but it is free, and that is usually a consideration for a work-at-homeschool mom.<br />
<br />
Even though you should write about something that you enjoy, you also should do some research to see what types of blogs get traffic before you start. You can make as many blogs as you like free with Blogger. Therefore, you might have more than one blog that increases your chances of making money for yourself. The most successful of these blogs is going to be the one about a topic that you are passionate about, that also happens to be a topic that gets massive searches that people are dying to read about. Generally speaking, a "mommy blogger" is someone who writes about topics of interest to mommies. But there is another sense in which a "mommy blogger" has become one who writes about mommy issues and attracts boatloads of mommies. The goal of any blogger is to draw traffic to her blog so that she may get some clicks on affiliate sites or Google ads, and the mom who attracts enough traffic to begin to also attract sponsors achieves the level of a serious "mommy blogger."<br />
<br />
Blogging for yourself is a slow process, but if you participate in discussions at forums and message boards with your link, you can increase your traffic and increase your chances of making money. If you need guaranteed pay, you can apply for blogging jobs that pay weekly or monthly. If you blog for a big client, you can actually make as much as one hundred dollars a day just writing five blog posts a day. <br />
<br />
The only disadvantage of blogging in a particular niche, is that you may grow weary of your topic if you have not selected it carefully. If you are working for a client, the greater the chance that the topic is going to become tiresome. This is something that you have to consider before starting any blog or blogging job. <br />
<br />
Some bloggers also make money making their blogs available for advertisements. One way is to allow the advertiser to show an ad on their blog. Advertisers are always looking for blogs with a large readership where they can promote their products. Miki's Hope has an Alexa ranking in the US of less than 15,000. That's a lot of eyeballs to attract advertisers.<br />
<br />
Another type of ad you can have on your blog is called Paid to Post. Companies and individuals pay you a certain amount of money to write up a post about their product or website and post it on your blog. Depending on the size of your blog audience, you can make as much as one hundred dollars for a three hundred word post. Of course, it is important to disclose when you have been paid for a post, and the FTC has strict regulations about this. Ignore them at your own peril.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
You can also blog for exposure - by that I mean, you can write a guest post on someone else's blog that has a resource box that links back to your blog, or you can write something that you are excited about just for the sheer joy of doing it, with a few links to sites who may send traffic your way once they get wind of your post. I'm thinking of the <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com/2010/08/utterly-off-topic-wednesday-turning-my.html" target="_blank">post I did about Topsy Turvy Garden Bags on this blog a couple of years ago.</a> I totally should have gotten paid for that. But I was more excited about my awesome tomatoes than I was about getting paid. And that post has been widely seen by people searching on gardening topics in general, and Topsy Turvy in particular - enough so that it is still listed in my "Most Popular Posts" sidebar widget even two years later.<br />
<br />
Whether you want to work for someone else or blog for yourself will depend on the amount of money you want to make, and the amount of time you have. You can do both paid blogging and blogging for yourself and increase your income, as long as you remember that your primary responsibility is caring for your family and secondarily, teaching your children.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-71037042391249360932011-12-30T18:32:00.000-05:002011-12-30T18:32:30.899-05:0010 Tips To Avoid Work At Home Mom Burnout<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n1DNJga4Pkk/SQ5uEfajQHI/AAAAAAAAAGY/ULWbeu8h04k/s1600/canstockphoto0890933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n1DNJga4Pkk/SQ5uEfajQHI/AAAAAAAAAGY/ULWbeu8h04k/s320/canstockphoto0890933.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Working from home is a great way to stay home with your kids while still supplementing the family’s income. On the flipside, it can be challenging to be mother and employee at the same time. Your stress level will rise quickly when you have deadlines to keep or phone calls to make while your little ones are acting out. Implement a few of the ideas below to prevent Work at Home Mom Burnout. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Don’t work more than you have to. Money isn’t everything. You family needs a happy and sane mom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Create a schedule or to-do list both for work and your personal life. Just realize that you won’t always get everything done and don’t worry if you don’t. There’s always tomorrow. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Designate an errand day. Spend one day a week running around town getting everything done for the week. This is when you will grocery shop, drop things off at the drycleaner, go to the post office and anything else you need to do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. Enjoy your kids. Take some time to play with them every day. Have a picnic lunch in the yard, take them on a little field trip or just play catch for a while. You’re a work at home mom because you want to spend time with your kids. Work and house chores can wait while you play. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Go out on a date with your spouse. Make date night a regular occurrence and connect with your lover. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. Have lunch with a girlfriend. We need some adult conversation every now and then. Make time to stay in touch with your friends. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Call a friend. If you are having a bad day, call a good friend and just talk for a little while. You’ll be relaxed and rejuvenated when you get back. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. Get some exercise. Go for a walk, join a gym, or try a Pilate’s class. Exercise will not only keep you in shape, it’s also a great de-stressor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. Play some upbeat music and dance around the living room. Who cares if your kids and the neighbors think you’ve lost it? You are having fun and are releasing all that build up physical energy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">10. If you own a business, stick to one until it more or less runs itself. Don’t burn yourself out by trying to run several businesses at the same time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Start implementing a few of these ideas today and watch your stress level go down. You will prevent work at home mom burnout and get to enjoy life more. Your family will appreciate spending time with a fun and relaxed mom. That’s what it’s all about – spending quality time with your family</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-5539630324985462062011-12-14T06:28:00.000-05:002011-12-14T06:28:00.521-05:00Dealing with stereotypes - What does a Work-at-home-school mom look like?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T_EmHFzebQY/TugJZFSZJvI/AAAAAAAAAWk/2RgGga4_NUk/s1600/multitasking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T_EmHFzebQY/TugJZFSZJvI/AAAAAAAAAWk/2RgGga4_NUk/s320/multitasking.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the hardest issues to contend with as a work-at-homeschool mom is the
perception of others that you aren’t working. Many people think that working at
home isn’t working at all, and that you have all of the free time in the world.
Those who have spent any time working at home know that there is a lot of time
and energy that goes into effectively working at home. Friends who call in the
middle of the day, spouses who expect you to be doing more while home or family
members who make offhand comments, can undermine those efforts. Add homeschooling to the mix, and you have a recipe for misunderstandings and frayed tempers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not all stay at home moms work, and they certainly don't usually try to work and homeschool. If you have friends who
do neither, it can be<strike> hard</strike> impossible for them to understand that your days aren’t free. Calls
during your working time, invitations to lunch and uninvited guests can throw a
wrench in your work schedule. In order to get your friends to respect your
time, it’s important to make your working schedule clear to them. And to make them understand that homeschooling is not a hobby or a whim, but the most important part of your "work" day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you don’t have a clear work schedule, then it is time to
make one for yourself. Since school is obviously a priority, you will have to be intentional about setting aside hours that you designate as "work." By setting office hours for yourself, you will make it clear
to everyone around you that you are serious about your work. It will also help
set boundaries for your time. Tell your friends that you will be unavailable
from a certain time to a certain time, but you’d love to talk before or after
those times. Make sure your children are able to work independently, or that your older children can supervise the younger ones during the time you are "in the office." You may even go so far as to turn off your phone. If you do answer
the phone and someone wants to chat, politely let them know that you are
working but can speak after a certain time. Also, schedule things like lunches
or visits for one day per week. This way you’ll reduce the drop-ins and
spontaneous invitations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spouses can sometimes have difficulty understanding why, if
you are home all day, the housework isn’t done. This problem can best by solved
by familiarizing him with the nature of your homeschool and your business. Show him exactly what
you need to do each day, and how long it takes to do each task. Help him
understand your work schedule, and how much time you need to work per day.
Happily, homeschool dads are usually good about recognizing the sacrifice you are making to homeschool your children, and they just need to walk through your day realize the
benefits of your work as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then ask him to help you come up with solutions for working
at home and maintaining the household. Make a list of things that need to be
done each week, and assign duties to you, him and the children (those who are old
enough). Then taking care of the house becomes a family priority and something
that you all share responsibility in. Notify him of any special projects by
keeping a work calendar on the wall. That way he can see what is going on with
your work schedule, and why you have ordered pizza for dinner three times in
the last week!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many work at homeschool moms can be hurt over offhand comments about working
at home. Family or even friends can say things like “Well you have the time,
because you are at home.” These are usually the same ones who cannot understand why you homeschool, or what it entails. In situations like these, you have two choices. You
can either get upset and offer a flustered defense or you can take their
comments with a grain of salt and offer a calm response. Depending on the
situation you can say something like “Well, school ends at 2pm, and after that I have several hours in the office. Let me check my work schedule. I know
I am not available on these days” or “That would be great on Friday afternoon,
which is when I leave time in my work schedule for those types of things.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember, working at home is new territory for many people
although the numbers of moms who are trying to work at home and homeschool are growing. It may take some time for the
average person to understand the commitment and scheduling that it takes to
effectively mix a home business with homeschooling. You may never convince some people that you are
actually teaching and working while at home, but establishing respect for your own time is
one way to make them see that what you are doing is important.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-36171446971769044422011-12-13T17:30:00.001-05:002011-12-13T17:40:07.046-05:00Twelve Days of HomeschoolThanks to Sandee Rodriguez for the heads up about this fun video version of "Twelve Days of Christmas" as sung by homeschool moms. No further comment is needed, the video speaks for itself!
Merry Christmas!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RWa0rzvesCE?version=3&hl=en_US">
</param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
</param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">
</param>
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RWa0rzvesCE?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is pretty hilarious for homeschool moms.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-90255486837676243072011-11-28T23:13:00.001-05:002011-12-14T08:03:47.919-05:00NJ Homeschoolers! Your Calls Needed Now to Stop S3105<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">IMPORTANT UPDATE Calls No Longer Needed on Huttle-Weinberg Bills</span></b></span><br />
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:</b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Thank you for your phone calls! They have had a significant impact. </b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b>Our opposition to the Huttle-Weinberg bills is now well known in the </b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b>legislature, greatly reducing the likelihood the bills could be </b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b>quietly hurried through at the end of the legislative session (in </b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b>early January) under a suspension of legislative rules.</b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><</b></span></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">It has been a long time since I posted an article about proposed legislation in NJ.</span>
<br />
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h2>
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Once again, NJ is trying to punish homeschoolers for the failures of DYFS. HSLDA Attorney Scott Woodruff's conclusion is chilling:<br /><br /> <b> "New Jersey would overnight have one of the worst homeschool laws in the nation. The New Jersey tax base and overall economy could suffer as homeschool families avoid (or leave) the state."</b><br /><br />Governor Christie has said that something like $70 billion in wealth has left NJ because of the unfriendly business climate and the confiscatory taxes. NJ's favorable homeschool climate is the only reason we stayed all these years. My husband has been trying to talk me into moving to Pennsylvania for years, and I was never willing because of the homeschooling regulations. Now that we are no longer homeschooling, it won't affect me directly, but it WILL affect many of my friends.<br /><br />I just received this e-lert from HSLDA concerning <b>S3105</b>, the latest attempt by Loretta Weinberg to increase homeschool regulation. The e-lert is posted here in its entirety.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Stop State-Mandated Annual Medical Exams and Portfolios for Homeschoolers</b></span><br /><br />Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:<br /><br />Your calls are needed immediately to stop S3105, a bill Senator Loretta Weinberg filed last week, despite many calls asking her not to. The bill treats every homeschool parent like a child abuser by requiring them to file documentation of annual medical exams.<br /><br />It would require parents to submit each child’s name, birth date, and homeschool instructor’s name every year by August 1. A mandatory portfolio would be due June 30. But what bureaucrats can require in a child’s portfolio is virtually unlimited.<br /><br />The bill gives the State Board of Education dramatic new power over homeschool families by empowering it to regulate homeschooling. The Board could mandate exactly how all the bill’s requirements would be enforced. It could define homeschooling itself.<br /><br /><b>There is virtually no limit as to what the Board could require in the annual medical exam. No issue—no matter how personal, sensitive, unwelcome or intrusive—would be off limits.</b><br /><br />Lawmakers who act against the will of the people can be removed from office. But State Board of Education members are appointed, not elected. New Jersey homeschool families would be virtually at their mercy.<br /><br /><b>This bill would turn New Jersey’s current sensible legal framework into a morass of regulations and burdensome red tape. With three filings every year for 42,000 homeschooled children, overworked public school staff would have yet more burdens added to their shoulders.</b><br /><br />Taxpayers would pay the cost of filing, processing, checking, responding to, and storing 120,000 sets of paperwork each year. Taxes will inevitably go up to pay for it.<br /><br />The media carried reports recently about the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) failing to protect an allegedly homeschooled child in danger—with tragic results. S3105 wrongly punishes parents for the failures of DYFS.<br />Action Requested<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Please make three courteous phone calls by Thursday using the contact information below.</span><br /><br /> <b>Call Sen. Stephen Sweeney.</b> He is the president of the New Jersey Senate, and he controls its business.<br /> <b>Call Sen. Teresa Ruiz.</b> She is the chair of the Senate Education Committee, to which S3105 was referred.<br /> <b>If you are a constituent of the other four members of the committee (Sens. Jim Whelan, Diane Allen, Thomas Kean and Shirley Turner), call them</b>. <i>(ed note: Calling Shirley turner? Good luck with that.) </i>Or use our legislative toolbox to see if you are a constituent of one of those senators.<br /><br />Your message can be as simple as “Please oppose S3105. Don’t punish homeschoolers and public school staff for the failures of DYFS.”<br /><br />Or you can frame your own message using information in this email, including material in the “background” section below.</span></h2>
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Contact Information</span><br /><br /><b>Sen. Stephen Sweeney:</b><br /><br />(856) 251-9801 (West Deptford office)<br /><br />(856) 455-1011 (Bridgeton office)<br /><br />(856) 339-0808 (Salem office)<br /><br /><b>Sen. Teresa Ruiz:</b><br /><br />(973) 484-1000<br /><br /><b>Sen. Jim Whelan:</b><br />(609) 383-1388<br /><br /><b>Sen. Diane Allen:</b><br /><br />(609) 239-2800<br /><br /><b>Sen. Thomas Kean:</b><br /><br />(732) 974-0400<br /><br /><b>Sen. Shirley Turner:</b><br /><br />(609) 530-3277<br /> </span></h2>
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Background</span><br /><br />Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), Education Network of Christian Homeschoolers of New Jersey (ENOCH), Catholic Homeschoolers of New Jersey (CHNJ), and New Jersey Homeschool Association (NJHA), and others, are united as a task force in opposing S3105.<br /><br />You can view the bill online. DYFS had numerous contacts with the family of the abused girl who was in the news this summer. A fresh report was called in just a few days before she died. DYFS did virtually nothing about the report and closed it. Fix DYFS. That’s where the problem is.<br /><br />Complicated rules always foster needless conflicts, and this would become an everyday occurrence. After the state board adopts regulations, local school systems would adopt their own requirements, creating an additional layer of red tape.<br /><br />New Jersey would overnight have one of the worst homeschool laws in the nation. The New Jersey tax base and overall economy could suffer as homeschool families avoid (or leave) the state.<br /><br />The outstanding academic achievements of homeschool students has been documented by many studies. Homeschoolers typically score 30 percentile points above others on standardized tests. Since homeschoolers score the same in states with heavy regulation and states with light regulation, adding new regulations is highly unlikely to help academic performance (source: Dr. Brian Ray, “Home Schooling Achievement,” 1997).<br /><br />Thank you for standing with us for freedom!<br /><br />Sincerely yours,<br /><br />Scott Woodruff<br /><br />HSLDA Senior Counsel</span></h2><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-16529047230791447892011-11-07T11:37:00.000-05:002011-11-11T20:54:26.556-05:00A New American Christmas Tradition<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Perhaps you have seen this already. I have no idea who wrote it, but they are clearly not going to come after me for reposting it since they urged people to get the message out. </span></span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Someone sent it to me today in an email, and I think it bears repeating.</span></span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K-FuxYLvIu8/SRfUrKVofFI/AAAAAAAAAG4/sKHypkfCAuE/s1600/canstockphoto0617720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K-FuxYLvIu8/SRfUrKVofFI/AAAAAAAAAG4/sKHypkfCAuE/s320/canstockphoto0617720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Something
to think about...</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">As Americans, we need to
support our own economy, and not be held hostage by cheap, foreign-made products that are crippling the jobs of workers in the United States.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
<br />
Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition<br />
<br />
As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffc000; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat;">There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Oh... Yes there is!<br />
<br />
</span></span>It is time to think outside the box, people.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffc000; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat;">Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?<br />
<br />
</span></span>Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about
gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?<br />
<br />
Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.<br />
<br />
Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.<br />
<br />
Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamins on a Chinese-made flat-screen TV? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.<br />
<br />
There are a gazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.<br />
<br />
How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?<br />
<br />
Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.<br />
<br />
My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.<br />
<br />
OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.<br />
<br />
Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.<br />
<br />
Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.<br />
<br />
Honestly people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.<br />
<br />
You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US (We the People), encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we could not imagine.<br />
<br />
THIS is the new American Christmas tradition!!<br />
<br />
Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussion groups.<br />
<br />
-- throw up a post on Craig's List in the Rants and Raves section in your city.<br />
<br />
-- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments.<br />
<br />
This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what Christmas is about?</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-54240800489175118652011-10-29T14:58:00.000-04:002011-10-29T14:59:48.809-04:00Jesus' Name Ruled Unconstitutional<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NWciOEzQ5Zk/Tqw7mmZpLwI/AAAAAAAAAU0/Bal-J3BEoL8/s1600/no-jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NWciOEzQ5Zk/Tqw7mmZpLwI/AAAAAAAAAU0/Bal-J3BEoL8/s200/no-jesus.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit<br />
<a href="http://kswptim.wordpress.com/">http://kswptim.wordpress.com/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"A U.S. circuit court decision that states even “a solitary reference to Jesus Christ” in invocations before the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners’ meetings could do “violence to the pluralistic and inclusive values that are a defining feature of American public life.”</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=361461" target="_blank">World Net Daily reported today</a> that the Name of Jesus has been ruled unconstitutional in North Carolina.<br />
<br />
Seriously?<br />
<br />
I am so tired of this kind on nonsense. Shall I go out and sue everyone who offends me? I could singlehandedly clog up the courts for decades with lawsuits concerning public statements that offend me!<br />
<br />
Free speech, even repulsive speech, is one of the hazards of a free society (not up for discussion about whether we are really still free, thanks). The name of Jesus is NOT repulsive speech, no matter what the ACLU or the US Circuit Court think.<br />
<br />
Why isn't a solitary reference to Allah, or Buddha, or the Dalai Lama, or Mother Earth, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, something that does violence to our "inclusive" values?<br />
<br />
Occupy Wall Street protesters might say it like this: 99% of the complaints about stuff like this come from 1% of the professional malcontents who hire the ACLU to scrub every reference to Jesus from public life.<br />
<br />
If someone doesn't feel that they can participate in civic affairs because they are scandalized by a prayer, they have bigger problems than I am able to address in this column. Believe me, my opposition to Roe v. Wade, Obamacare, or "gender education" for kindergarteners doesn't stop me from participating in civic affairs.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the Board of County Commissioners in Forsyth County has retained the Alliance Defense Fund to help them overturn this ruling. Brett Harvey of the Alliance Defense Fund explains,<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;"> "The Constitution prohibits the government from deciding which religious words are acceptable and which are not, even if the goal is to make people feel more comfortable."</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">Read more:</span></span><a href="http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=361461#ixzz1cC7RBzkp" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;">Jesus' name ruled 'unconstitutional'</a><a href="http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=361461#ixzz1cC7RBzkp" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;">http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=361461#ixzz1cC7RBzkp</a></span></blockquote>
I may not agree with you, but will defend to the death your right to your opinion. As a Christian and an American, I may have a different take on this from people in other countries. So, international readers, step up and speak! Americans, too - I know my readers and online friends are a diverse lot. God forbid that we should have to march in lockstep and all subscribe to the same groupthink to be friends.<br />
<br />
I know, I know. This one doesn't have anything to do with homeschooling. And it isn't even Wednesday.<br />
<br />
So sue me. Better yet, comment! I really want to know what you think.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-46870021182310528792011-10-20T15:30:00.003-04:002011-10-20T15:55:03.153-04:00Here We Go Again! 9th Circuit Outlaws Banners Mentioning "God"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bnR3RbPcaLI/SMgHpKORRDI/AAAAAAAAACo/8MTmfMIXm48/s1600/USA_declaration_of_independence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bnR3RbPcaLI/SMgHpKORRDI/AAAAAAAAACo/8MTmfMIXm48/s320/USA_declaration_of_independence.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
The 9th Circuit strikes again!<br />
<br />
The same three judge panel that decided that "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional is at it again. This time, they have reversed a lower court ruling that allowed Bradley Johnson to display patriotic banners in his San Diego classroom because they mention "God."<br />
<br />
I wrote about this controversy in a post called <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com/2008/09/finally-judge-with-sense-in-california.html">"Finally, A Judge with Sense in California!"</a>, in which I celebrated the lower court ruling that enabled the banners to remain. If you are unfamiliar with this controversy, you may wish to review that post from 2008.<br />
<br />
2008. Seriously?<br />
<br />
So, <i>three</i> years ago, I wrote that Bradley Johnson had been displaying his banners for 25 years. That means it has been 28 years now, and they still have not had any significant complaints, except maybe from Michael Newdow, or some other professional malcontent who lives to see the mention of God eradicated from the public square.<br />
<br />
Bradley Johnson is a respected math teacher in the Poway Unified School District - in California, where else? They actually told him to take down his banner in 2007, all the while leaving intact other banners and posters displayed in other classrooms containing photos of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Prayer Flags, anti-religious song lyrics, and gay and lesbian promotional materials. Whatever your opinion of any of these materials, I guarantee you that they are every bit as offensive to some segments of the population as the mention of "God" in the context of American history.<br />
<br />
One phrase, "One Nation Under God" is from the Pledge of Allegiance - the same Pledge that the 9th Circuit judges got their panties in a twist about in 2002. "In God We Trust" is on our money - though in recent years it has been banished to the edges of some coins. "God Shed His Grace on Thee" and "God Bless America" are familiar lyrics from patriotic songs that Americans have been singing for generations.<br />
<br />
Here is a photo of the evil banner in question:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thomasmore.org/graphics/sb_thomasmore/imag592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="http://www.thomasmore.org/graphics/sb_thomasmore/imag592.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Thomas More Law Center</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here is how it looks in the classroom, where at least half the students have their backs toward it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vSqoG8YYUSU/TqB2iYpKwWI/AAAAAAAAAUs/aluQmkXlgng/s1600/classroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vSqoG8YYUSU/TqB2iYpKwWI/AAAAAAAAAUs/aluQmkXlgng/s320/classroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The Thomas More Law Center is once again defending Johnson, and in September, announced its intent to petition for an "en banc" review of the decision, which will require the entire voting membership of the 9th Circuit to decide whether the petition should be granted. If the petition is granted they will have to go before a panel of 11 judges who will be selected from among the voting members.<br />
<br />
As I mentioned in my earlier article, this is not specifically about homeschooling, but it certainly continues to underscore the hostility to anything that might be - even erroneously - construed as a religious message. Here are a couple of quotes from the decision, written by appeals court Judge Richard Tallman.<br />
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;"><b>“We consider whether a public school district infringes the First Amendment liberties of one of its teachers when it orders him not to use his public position as a pulpit from which to preach his own views on the role of God in our Nation’s history to the captive students in his mathematics classroom. The answer is clear: it does not.” </b></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;"><b>“Though Johnson maintains that his banners express purely patriotic sentiments … it seems as plain to us as it was to school officials that Johnson’s banners concern religion."</b></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">“One would need to be remarkably unperceptive to see the statements …. as organized and displayed by Johnson and not understand them to convey a religious message.”</span> </b></blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif;">But it was okay for other teachers to
display the Tibetan prayer flags, or lyrics to "Imagine" to captive
students in their [insert name of class here] class.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif;">Puhleeze. This is the same court that
ruled in 2005 that adopting Muslim names, reciting Muslim prayers, and
simulating religious fasting for three weeks was a perfectly acceptable
classroom activity, not “overt religious exercises” that would raise concerns
under the First Amendment prohibition of “establishment of religion.”</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif;">Never mind that these exercises were
conducted in the fall of 2001. Am I the only one who gets sick to my stomach
when I think about that?</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif;">Can you imagine the weeping and
gnashing of teeth if students were subjected to some Christian themed role
playing for three weeks? </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif;">During Ramadan?</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, serif;">I know not everyone homeschools for
religious reasons, but rulings like these confirm that those who do are not
merely imagining that their worldview is under attack. It is part of the
same phenomenon that caused <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/220509/whitewashing-jihad-schools/michelle-malkin">school officials in Michigan to think it was okayto hold a terrorism drill that depicted Christian homeschoolers as theterrorists.</a> In 2007, Burlington County, NJ school officials held a mock drill
that included gun-toting Christian extremists who were upset because the
daughter of one of them was expelled for praying in school. Superintendent
Chris Manno told the Burlington County Times</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 24px;">:</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><em>We need to practice under conditions as real as possible in order to evaluate our procedures and plans so that they're as effective as possible.</em></span></blockquote>
This isn't MY reality.<br />
<br />
I know, I know. This isn't happening in YOUR public school. First of all, how do you know? And second, when it is, will you do anything about it? Whether you are a Christian or not, it should matter to you that someone's freedom is being curtailed because of what they believe. Next time it could be some value or belief YOU cherish.<br />
<blockquote>
</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-79799006250831702092011-10-04T16:49:00.000-04:002011-10-04T16:51:06.018-04:00The Label Even Monsanto Considers a 'Skull and Crossbones'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.stargazerdobermans.com/red-skull-crossbones-clipart.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://www.stargazerdobermans.com/red-skull-crossbones-clipart.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
Reprinted with Permission from <a href="http://www.mercola.com/">Mercola.com</a>. Please see resource box below.<br />
<br />
By: Ronnie Cummins<br />
Organic Consumers Association<br />
<br />
<b><i>"If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it." - Norman Braksick, president of Asgrow Seed Co., a subsidiary of Monsanto, quoted in the Kansas City Star, March 7, 1994</i></b><br />
<br />
Monsanto and Food Inc.'s stranglehold over the nation's food and farming system is about to be challenged in a food fight that will largely determine the future of American agriculture.<br />
<br />
A growing corps of organic food and health activists in California—supported by consumers and farmers across the nation—are boldly standing up to Monsanto and its minions, taking the first steps to expose the widespread contamination of non-organic grocery store foods with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and moving to implement mandatory GMO labeling through a grassroots-powered Citizens Ballot Initiative process.<br />
<br />
<br />
This week, lawyers representing a broad and unprecedented health, environmental, and consumer coalition, including the Organic Consumers Association, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, Center for Food Safety, Mercola.com, Nature's Path, Natural News.com, LabelGMOs.org, Food Democracy Now, and the Institute for Responsible Technology, filed papers with the California Attorney General's office to place a Citizens Initiative on the Ballot in November, 2012 that would require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods and food ingredients.<br />
<br />
If California voters pass this ballot initiative in 2012, it will likely be the beginning of the end for Monsanto and genetically engineered food in the U.S. According to Zuri Starr, a Southern California field organizer for the Organic Consumers Association:<br />
<br />
"The California Ballot Initiative is perhaps our last chance to stop the Biotech Express, to overthrow Biotechnology's dictatorial regime and build a safe and sustainable food and farming system based upon the ethical principles of consumer choice and BioDemocracy."<br />
<br />
Moving the Battleground<br />
<br />
After 20 years of biotech bullying and force-feeding unlabeled and hazardous genetically modified (GM) foods to animals and humans—aided and abetted by the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations— a critical mass of food and health activists have decided it's time to move beyond small skirmishes and losing battles and go on the offensive.<br />
<br />
It's time to move the food fight over labeling GM food from the unfavorable terrain of Washington D.C. and Capitol Hill, where Monsanto and Food Inc. exercise control, to California, the heartland of organic food and farming and anti-GMO sentiment, where 80-85 percent of the body politic, according to recent polls, support mandatory labeling.<br />
<br />
The trillion-dollar biotech, supermarket, and food industry are acutely conscious of the fact that North American consumers, like their European counterparts, are wary and suspicious of genetically engineered food.<br />
<br />
Consumers understand you don't want your food safety or environmental sustainability decisions to be made by out-of-control chemical and biotech companies like Monsanto, Dow, or DuPont--the same people who brought us toxic pesticides and industrial chemicals, Agent Orange, carcinogenic food additives, and PCBs. Biotech, food, and grocery corporations are alarmed by the fact that every poll over the last 20 years has shown that 85-95 percent of American consumers want mandatory labels on genetically modified foods.<br />
<br />
Europe Shows Labels Drive GMOs off the Market<br />
<br />
Why are there basically no genetically engineered foods or crops anywhere in Europe, while 75 percent of U.S. supermarket foods—including many so-called "natural" foods—are GE tainted?<br />
<br />
The answer is simple. In Europe genetically modified foods and ingredients have to be labeled. In the U.S. they do not. Up until now, in North America, Monsanto and the Biotechnocrats have enjoyed free reign to secretly lace non-organic foods with gene-spliced viruses, bacteria, antibiotic-resistant marker genes, and foreign DNA—mutant "Frankenfoods" shown to severely damage the health of animals, plants, and other living organisms in numerous scientific studies.<br />
<br />
Monsanto and their allies understand the threat that truth-in-labeling poses for GMOs.<br />
<br />
As soon as genetically modified foods start to be labeled in the U.S., millions of consumers will start to read these labels and react. They'll complain to grocery store managers and companies, they'll talk to their family and friends. They'll start switching to foods that are organic or at least GMO-free. Once enough consumers start complaining about GM foods and food ingredients; stores will eventually stop selling them; and farmers will stop planting them.<br />
<br />
Genetically engineered foods have absolutely no benefit for consumers or the environment, only hazards.<br />
<br />
This is why Monsanto and their friends in the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations have prevented consumer GMO truth-in-labeling laws from ever getting a public discussion, much less coming to a vote in Congress. And this is why activists are launching the California Ballot Initiative. By moving the battle from the federal level to the state level, by employing one of the last remaining tools of direct grassroots democracy in the USA, the ballot initiative, concerned consumers can bypass Washington and regain their fundamental right to know what they are eating.<br />
<br />
Passing mandatory GMO labeling in just one large state, California, where there is tremendous opposition to GM foods as well as a multi-billion dollar organic food industry, will ultimately have the same impact as a national labeling law.<br />
<br />
If California food and health activists succeed in putting a GMO labeling initiative on the ballot in 2012 and the voters pass it, the biotech and food industry will face an intractable dilemma. Will they dare put labels on their branded food products in just one state, California, admitting these products contain or may contain genetically engineered ingredients, while withholding this ingredient label information in the other states? Will they allow their organic and non-GMO competitors to drive down their GMO-tainted brand market share? The answer to both of these questions is likely no. What most of them will do is start to shift to organic and non-GMO ingredients, so as to avoid what the Monsanto executive 16 years ago aptly described as the "skull and crossbones" label.<br />
<br />
California Label Laws Have National Impact: Proposition 65<br />
<br />
A clear indication of the impact of warning labels on consumer products was established in California in 1986 when voters passed, over the strenuous opposition of industry, a ballot initiative called Proposition 65, which required consumer products with potential cancer-causing ingredients to bear warning labels. Rather than label their products sold in California as likely carcinogenic, most companies reformulated their product ingredients so as to avoid warning labels altogether, and they did this on a national scale, not just in California.<br />
<br />
This same scenario will likely unfold again in California in 2012. Can you imagine Kellogg's selling its Corn Flakes breakfast cereal in California with a label that admits it contains or may contain genetically engineered corn? How about Kraft Boca Burgers admitting that their soybean ingredients are genetically modified?<br />
<br />
How about the entire non-organic food industry (including many so-called "natural" brands) admitting that 75 percent of their products are GE-tainted? Once food manufacturers and supermarkets are forced to come clean and label genetically engineered products, they will likely remove all GM ingredients, to avoid the "skull and crossbones" effect, just like the food industry in the EU has done. In the wake of this development American farmers will convert millions of acres of GM crops to non-GMO or organic varieties.<br />
<br />
Finally consumers will be able to tell the difference between organic food (labeled as "organic" and thereby GMO-free); natural food (which will not have a GMO label), and bogus "natural" food (which will be required to display the label "contains or may contain GMOs").<br />
<br />
What Now? OCA Needs Volunteers and Money<br />
<br />
Since we don't have a couple of million dollars to spare like Monsanto does, we're going to have to rely on an army of volunteers to gather signatures. These volunteers can be trained and coordinated by our small but highly dedicated and experienced paid campaign staff and consultants, but for the most part we must drive this campaign forward with volunteer labor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Please, Join Us and Take Action NOW!<br />
<br />
Among other tasks over the next month, our staff and volunteer coordinators will be organizing several hundred short training sessions in local communities across California. These short and relatively simple training sessions--a couple of hours or less--will train our volunteers on what to do, where to go, and how to be effective in gathering signatures of registered voters to put the GE labeling measure on the ballot.<br />
<br />
These training meetings, a number of which have already been successfully organized, will also enable volunteers to meet and get to know other volunteers in their local area.<br />
<br />
We need to recruit, train and deploy a grassroots network of 2000+ California volunteers (each gathering 250 or more petition signatures over the 105 day period) and district coordinators in order to gather the 500,000-700,000 signatures of California registered voters over the 15-week period that extends between the first week of November 2011 and mid-March 2012.<br />
<br />
These volunteers must be recruited, trained by our campaign staff in a meeting in their local area, and deployed in teams of 2 to 4 people in front of natural food stores and high volume pedestrian locations across California starting early in November.<br />
<br />
In order to hit the ground running in early November we need your help now. We not only need petition gathering volunteers, we need money. OCA and our allied lobbying organization, the Organic Consumers Fund, estimate that we need to raise at least $80,000 over the next month in order to effectively pay our staff, consultants, and other campaign expenses.<br />
<br />
If you live in California and are willing to attend a training session and then start collecting petition signatures (you will be part of a team of 2-4 people) in early November, sign up <a href="http://www.organicconsumersfund.org/label/">here</a>.<br />
Whether you live in California or not, please donate money to this historic effort.<br />
The future of our food supply literally depends upon the success of this campaign. Join us!<br />
<br />
<br />
<script language="javascript" src="http://www.mercola.com/js/citation.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-90944124973019380832011-07-26T11:57:00.005-04:002011-07-31T20:55:53.919-04:00Facebook vs. Google + - What's Your Preference?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"></span></span><br />
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">There is a fascinating debate going on, mostly on Google +, about whether G+ will replace Facebook. I can't for the life of me see how some people will ever connect with G+. Right now it is populated with early adopters, techies, syndicators and curators, geeks, gadget freaks, and social media types. It seems to me almost like a combination of Facebook and Twitter, with a little Skype thrown in. Don't even know what I am taking about?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Exactly.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">This poll was created by Brian Solis, possibly in response to a poll of PC Magazine readers in which fully 50% said they would abandon Facebook. I am reluctant to make a sweeping generalization about FB versus G+ based on that since most people (my age, particuarly) are not that technically inclined. I think it is a little like polling only the members of the NJ Education Association and then making a sweeping generalization about whether NJ Gov. Christie will be reelected.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">I just don't see Great Aunt Millie who just figured out Facebook migrating to Google Plus. Many of my readers are not especially technically inclined, so I thought I would ask you. I don't mean to be insulting, it's just that you represent the person who is online but doesn't use, or know about, or care about all the bells and whistles. The person who likes to read blogs, but may be experiencing social media overload and is a little sick of the whole thing.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Kind of a reverse poll of the PCMag readers.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" id="twpw_if" name="twpw_if" scrolling="no" src="http://twtpoll.com/badge/if/?twt=x1tywe&b=1&bt=1" width="400">&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Your browser doesn't support iFrames :( Vote for this poll &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://twtpoll.com/x1tywe" title="here" target="_blank"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;here&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;</iframe><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Be sure and comment on this post and let me know how you voted.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 1em; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">The poll ends in about 5 days, and Brian Solis will be writing about the results of the poll. Let your non-tech voice be heard! I will update you when he writes about it. </span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-59654759514934647722011-05-25T10:35:00.000-04:002011-05-25T10:35:49.514-04:00Influential Homeschoolers - From Presidents to Pop Stars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dandelionpath.com/images/uploads/IMG_8431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://www.dandelionpath.com/images/uploads/IMG_8431.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Tidewater News featured <a href="http://www.tidewaternews.com/2011/05/25/homeschooling-transformed-over-decades/">a nice article by Virginia homeschooling-mom-of-five Carolyn West</a> about how homeschooling has changed over the last few decades.<br />
<br />
One of the things I enjoyed about this post was the reminder of how many famous people were home schooled.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>You might be amazed at the famous and influential people who were homeschooled — 14 presidents, including Abraham Lincoln; 28 heads of state, including Benjamin Franklin; military leaders like Douglas MacArthur; Supreme Court judges, including Sandra Day O’Connor; scientists such as Albert Einstein; artists like Da Vinci; religious leaders, including Jonathan Edwards; inventors, such as the Wright brothers; composers like Mozart; writers, including Mark Twain; educators, such as Booker T. Washington; performing artists like Whoopi Goldberg; and many business entrepreneurs, including Andrew Carnegie.</blockquote><blockquote>And these are only a few of hundreds of famous people known to have been educated at home. Let us remember that there was a time when all education was homeschooling.</blockquote><blockquote>There are a number of famous people who are currently educating their children at home as well, including Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, and Darrell and Stevie Waltrip, just to name a few.</blockquote><blockquote>For an impressive and more comprehensive list of famous homeschooled Americans and influential people in history, visit <a href="http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/famoushomeschoolers">www.homeschoolacademy.com/famoushomeschoolers</a>.</blockquote><br />
Much in the same way I had the privilege of raising my children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, today's homeschooling families have the opportunity to teach their children through the grid of their particular worldview. I have actually known families who thought the public schools were too conservative!<br />
<br />
Though I might have to take exception to the idea that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith or John and Kelly Travolta are educating their children at home constitutes an endorsement of homeschooling on any level. Most of us who were homeschooling back in the day did NOT do so in order to encourage our children to create videos like this.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<center><object height="200" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ymKLymvwD2U?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ymKLymvwD2U?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300" height="200" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></center><br />
<br />
Perhaps the Travolta's children will author a sequel to <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard">Dianetics</a></i>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-18267738193185386542011-05-23T10:58:00.001-04:002011-05-23T21:03:33.177-04:00Emergency Items That Run Out First<span style="background-color: white; color: white;">{EAV_BLOG_VER:872bc2e467c29277}</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4FF-m7LTfK5nl1y4aVWbn_FdWQviOzbWH5YPjjcicR6HoaWjYuLkZxB5yuXZK63-7Z3QhBkBEAxnEXO0EdiJhvBt63NigzyFR6SgCZ7Yr-1yNajz_cPiqcIX6C0aYm-Q8yjGew/s400/tim_survivalist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4FF-m7LTfK5nl1y4aVWbn_FdWQviOzbWH5YPjjcicR6HoaWjYuLkZxB5yuXZK63-7Z3QhBkBEAxnEXO0EdiJhvBt63NigzyFR6SgCZ7Yr-1yNajz_cPiqcIX6C0aYm-Q8yjGew/s320/tim_survivalist.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">My thoughts and prayers are with those in the Midwest today who were slammed by storms and crazy weather in the last 24 hours, particularly those in Joplin, MO who have lost their homes. I am also praying for those those who have been affected by the rising Mississippi River the last few weeks, and those who live in the area of the New Madrid fault who have had earthquakes on their minds as pundits have pondered recently what would happen there if we had a Big One in that area.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">People used to laugh at us when we talked about being prepared. In fact, even I used to accuse my husband of being paranoid and thought it was just an unfortunate side effect of working for Homeland Security.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">But preparedness is not just for "Survivalists" and "crazy people" who stockpile guns and live in <strike>caves</strike> Montana anymore. Preparedness is for everyone who has watched a weather report recently.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">This list of emergency items </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">was sent to me by a friend. These are the things </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">that often are the first to run out in a time of panic. You can laugh if you like, but think about the 70+ inches of snow we had this year in New Jersey and what might have happened if you lost power for about a week, or couldn't shovel out of your house.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">Now would be a good time to think about laying in some of these supplies, especially if you are in an area that could be affected by tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, or other natural disasters.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">1. Portable Toilet<br />
2. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (Buy clear oil. If scare, stockpile)<br />
3. Coleman Fuel<br />
4. Charcoal and Lighter fluid<br />
5. Cooking utensils (hand can opener, whisk, etc)<br />
6. Propane Heaters and all accessories that go with it (extra propane, heads, etc)<br />
7. Fishing accessories (line, hooks, bobbies, etc)<br />
8. Basin to do laundry in/wash boards, etc<br />
10. Cook stoves<br />
11. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder</span><span style="color: black;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">12. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.<br />
13. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)<br />
14. Garbage bags<br />
15. Toilet paper, paper towels, hygiene items<br />
16. Clothes pins/line/hangers<br />
17. Coleman’s Pump Repair Kit<br />
18. Matches<br />
19. light sticks<br />
20. Plastic Containers<br />
21. Cast iron cookware<br />
22. Fishing Supplies<br />
23. Duct Tape<br />
24. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes<br />
25. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)<br />
26. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)<br />
27. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)<br />
28. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer<br />
29. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets<br />
30. Paper plates/cups/utensils<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
31. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)<br />
32. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)<br />
33. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)<br />
34. Lumber (all types)<br />
35. Cots & Inflatable mattress’s<br />
36. Lantern Hangers<br />
37. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws, nuts & bolts<br />
38. Paraffin wax<br />
39. Goats/chickens</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">photo credit: <a href="http://brittanymclaren.blogspot.com/2010/02/meet-quirkies_02.html">Britt's Pics</a> </span><span style="color: black;"></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-27427617146503014392011-05-22T20:51:00.000-04:002011-05-22T20:51:43.095-04:00Sorry, Harold, You Were Wrong. Again.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hK4kA-kG02A/TdmstPkgDAI/AAAAAAAAAT0/TsC-icFzdFE/s1600/rapture-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hK4kA-kG02A/TdmstPkgDAI/AAAAAAAAAT0/TsC-icFzdFE/s320/rapture-final.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>Well, I'm still here. And so are all my Christian friends. And my non-Christian friends.<br />
<br />
And Harold Camping.<br />
<br />
Sorry, Harold, you were wrong. Again.<br />
<br />
You were wrong in 1994. And other clowns were wrong in 1988 and 1992.<br />
<br />
"But about that <b>day</b> or <b>hour</b> no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." - Mark 13:32<br />
<br />
"But about that <b>day</b> or <b>hour</b> no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. " - Matthew 24:36<br />
<br />
What part of "NO ONE KNOWS" did you not understand? Jesus said that even HE doesn't know the day or the hour. What ever gave you the idea that you had some secret knowledge not available even to the Son of God? It embarrasses me to even think about it.<br />
<br />
If there be any good from this it is that there have been more than a few serious conversations about the return of Christ that would never have happened. They may have started with people making fun of you, but they probably ended on a more sober note. Because Jesus IS coming back. You have that part right. Even if you were off on the "yesterday" part.<br />
<br />
There have also been people who may not otherwise have thought about what they are doing with their lives. I pondered this in my Facebook status yesterday. You can bet if I believed that Jesus was coming back yesterday I would not have wanted him to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/susancritelli">"Find Me on Facebook."</a> How much time to we spend on distractions and foolish entertainment instead of loving and serving people and doing the good works God has "prepared in advance for us to do"?<br />
<br />
No, I'm not getting rid of Facebook. Or even the addictive new social media/investing game I have been playing lately called <a href="http://www.empireavenue.com/secritelli">Empire Avenue</a>. But I am giving some serious thought to the proportion of time I am giving to the temporal instead of the eternal. <br />
<br />
A whole lot of joking has been going on in recent weeks about this, but it is time to remember that the return of Christ will be no laughing matter. Are you ready?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-13574833952667700532011-05-08T00:22:00.000-04:002011-05-08T00:22:00.185-04:00The Next Survivor SeriesLast year I wrote an article about <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com/2010/03/redeeming-email-forwards.html">redeeming email forwards</a>. I was thinking that even though most email forwards are a waste of time, occasionally there is one that is totally worthy to be forwarded or posted on a blog.<br />
<br />
To all mothers everywhere - this one's for you. Happy Mother's Day!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">THE NEXT <span style="color: red;">SURVIVOR</span> SERIES</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
Six married men will be dropped on an island<br />
<br />
with one car<br />
<br />
and 3 kids each<br />
<br />
for six weeks.<br />
<br />
Each kid will play two sports<br />
and take either music or dance classes.<br />
<br />
There is no fast food.<br />
<br />
Each man must<br />
<br />
take care of his 3 kids;<br />
keep his assigned house clean,<br />
correct all homework,<br />
complete science projects,<br />
cook,<br />
do laundry,<br />
and pay a list of 'pretend' bills<br />
with not enough money.<br />
<br />
In addition,<br />
<br />
each man<br />
will have to budget enough money<br />
for groceries each week.<br />
<br />
Each man<br />
must remember the birthdays<br />
of all their friends and relatives,<br />
and send cards out on time--no emailing.<br />
<br />
Each man must also take each child<br />
to a doctor's appointment,<br />
a dentist appointment<br />
and a haircut appointment.<br />
<br />
He must make one unscheduled and<br />
inconvenient visit per child to the <br />
<br />
Emergency Room.<br />
<br />
He must also make cookies or cupcakes<br />
for a school function.<br />
<br />
Each man will be responsible for</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
decorating his own assigned house,<br />
planting flowers outside, <br />
and keeping it presentable at all times.<br />
<br />
The men will only have access to television<br />
<br />
when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.<br />
<br />
The men must shave their legs,<br />
<br />
wear makeup daily,<br />
<br />
adorn themselves with jewelry,<br />
<br />
wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,<br />
<br />
keep fingernails polished,<br />
<br />
and eyebrows groomed<br />
<br />
During one of the six weeks,<br />
<br />
the men will have to endure severe<br />
abdominal cramps, backaches, headaches,<br />
have extreme, unexplained mood swings<br />
but never once complain or slow down<br />
from other duties.<br />
<br />
They must attend weekly school meetings<br />
<br />
and church,</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
and find time at least once to spend<br />
the afternoon at the park </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">or a similar<br />
setting.<br />
<br />
<br />
They will need to read a book to the kids</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> each night<br />
<br />
and in the morning,</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
feed them,<br />
<br />
dress them,</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
brush their teeth and<br />
comb their hair</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
by 7:30 am.<br />
<br />
A test will be given<br />
<br />
at the end of the six weeks,<br />
<br />
and each father will be required to know<br />
<br />
<br />
all of the following information:<br />
<br />
each child's<br />
<br />
birthday,<br />
height, weight,<br />
shoe size, clothes size,<br />
doctor's name,<br />
the child's weight at birth,<br />
length, time of birth,<br />
and length of labor,<br />
each child's favorite color,<br />
middle name,<br />
favorite snack,<br />
favorite song,<br />
favorite drink,<br />
favorite toy,<br />
biggest fear,<br />
and what they want to be when they grow up.<br />
<br />
The kids vote them off the island based on performance.<br />
<br />
The last man wins only if...<br />
<br />
he still<br />
<br />
has enough energy<br />
<br />
to be intimate with his spouse<br />
<br />
at a moment's notice.<br />
<br />
If the last man does win,<br />
<br />
he can play the game over and over and over<br />
<br />
again for the next 18-25 years,<br />
<br />
eventually earning the right<br />
<br />
to be called Mother!<br />
</b></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-3967004390732916742011-04-21T16:00:00.000-04:002011-04-21T16:00:37.470-04:00Passion of the Christ - Facebook StyleHere is another retread from 2009, but with an update - the original website where it appeared has gone offline! I managed to locate a PDF of it on another website. You can click on the picture to go to that PDF file.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <>< <>< <><</div><br />
Here is a clever retelling of the Easter Story as if it appeared on Facebook. I found it in <a href="http://digg.com/d1oAUH">bob.blog</a>. From a comment in the story: "I'm going to go on a limb and say I don't think God holds himself above satire. Since really when you think about it, what is the point of satire? It brings more clearly into focus the truth of the object of satire. Which in his case, is something worth thinking on."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://eugenecho.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/facebookpassion.pdf"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322023813971978578" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/SdugdiX4KVI/AAAAAAAAAOA/IPkqcmkzvso/s320/facebookpassion.png" style="display: block; height: 185px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<br />
I thought this was worth sharing with Christians, those who really love satire, or anyone who really appreciates Facebook. It could be the funniest thing you read all day, or the most offensive. It is satirical - if you are too religious to have a sense of humor, don't bother. If you are too much of an atheist to click on something about Christ, don't bother. And it is coming from a particular theological stance that I do not agree with. But I know that some of my readers wouldn't agree with ANY theological stance, so what difference? I am taking a cue from St. Paul as we wind our way through the holiest week on the Christian calendar: "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." Phil 1:18<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-54094294851552069732011-01-12T11:47:00.001-05:002011-01-12T11:54:23.458-05:00Digg This: Hijacked No More<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/SdV71WuNd5I/AAAAAAAAANg/cfubTwp-J6Q/s1600/add-digg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/SdV71WuNd5I/AAAAAAAAANg/cfubTwp-J6Q/s320/add-digg.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>Back in the summer of 2010, there was a tempest in a teapot about a group of conservative Diggers who were supposedly "censoring" Digg.<br />
<br />
A group of about 100 Diggers calling themselves the Digg Patriots were apparently using the "bury" feature to regularly bury liberal stories. This shocking discovery was made by Alternet, a blog that may actually be farther to the left than I was when I was young and stupid. I will not dignify the articles by posting links to them here.<br />
<br />
The alternet article must be written by the same people who think the mainstream media is too conservative. Other articles currently featured on this blog have titles like<br />
<br />
"What Happened When Fundamentalist Christians Tried to "Cure" Me of Homosexuality"<br />
<br />
"Why Are Believers So Hostile Toward Atheists?"<br />
<br />
"Brave Woman Who Grabbed Clip from Shooter Blames Right-Wing Media and Rhetoric ... In Fox News Interview"<br />
<br />
Really?<br />
<br />
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA<br />
<br />
On what planet is Digg in danger of being snatched away from the many thousands of pornified, pro-marijuana, pro-gay, pro-abortion, anti-gun, anti-Israel, anti-Christian Digg users by a group of 100 conservatives? When I first got on Digg in 2006 or 2007 conservative stories on the front page or anywhere else were nearly nonexistent. Just because there are more than there used to be doesn't mean there isn't still a gross imbalance in favor of left leaning articles.<br />
<br />
I have actually learned to love these guys, even the ones with whom there are no words to describe how vehemently I disagree. I have been where they are, and believed what they believe with equal fervor. Maybe they will change their minds one day, maybe not. I did, but it did not render me unable to have a conversation, or to "agree to disagree." <br />
<br />
I don't happen to care for burying stories, even ones I don't like. I feel very strongly that having to hear speech I don't like is a reasonable price of a free society. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean other people shouldn't have the right to read it, though I will bury comments that are blasphemous, racist, or just plain evil. If I don't like something, I don't digg it. On the other side of that coin, I have often dugg stories that I did not agree with because they made me think, or I found them otherwise worthy of recognition. My liberal Digg friends know that I am willing to digg all kinds of stories.<br />
<br />
Winston Churchill is said to have observed, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.” The youth of most of the Diggers I know accounts for most of their opinions. But Churchill also said,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span class="sqq">“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” This is where many of the progressive Diggers fall short. They shout and name-call, but do not actually listen to opposing views, preferring to bury them instead. </span></span>Perhaps the Digg Patriots felt that organized burying was the only way to balance the coverage.<br />
<br />
I can remember once submitting an article about Barbara Bush recovering from a heart attack, just because I thought it was newsworthy. That was before I understood the anti-Bush vitriol on Digg that prevented any serious consideration of any article that even mentioned the name. The story was buried in the first couple of minutes. It wasn't a political story, just acknowledgment of a serious health issue experienced by a former First Lady that would have been newsworthy had it been about Hillary Clinton.<br />
<br />
One of the charges leveled at the Digg Patriots is that they had multiple accounts, and when some of them were "banned for life" they came back in another incarnation. <br />
<br />
Please. This happened every day of the week. Where was the outrage when liberals did this?<br />
<br />
Anyway, that was before the unveiling of the publisher-heavy Digg 2.0, or 3.0 or whatever they are calling it. As far as I am concerned, that was the final demise of the "social" part of Digg that started when they took away the shout feature.<br />
<br />
There is still a lot of interesting news on Digg, but it is no longer a daily, obsessive destination for me. I digg intermittently, and I am still in touch with a lot of the people I met there. I still follow a lot of the interesting blogs and sites I would never have known about if not for Digg. It is a great place to find out what the OtherSide is thinking. But there are other social bookmarking/voting sites that have more appeal for me these days.<br />
<br />
Glad to have my life back.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Photo credit:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://tutorial-net.blogspot.com/" style="color: #ff3200; text-decoration: underline;">tutorial-net.blogspot.com</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-80559177288247557742011-01-08T00:29:00.000-05:002011-01-08T00:29:28.477-05:00The Downside to Working from Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/SQ5uEfajQHI/AAAAAAAAAGY/1i49Iyo73zU/s1600/canstockphoto0890933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/SQ5uEfajQHI/AAAAAAAAAGY/1i49Iyo73zU/s320/canstockphoto0890933.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>More and more people are working from home whether they work for themselves or a company. However, many people jump on the work-at-home bandwagon without considering all of the drawbacks to working at home. While some people are naturally inclined to work at home, others find the transition more difficult to make. There are many benefits to working at home, but the drawbacks need to be considered before you make the choice.<br />
<br />
The first drawback to looking for a work at home career is that your current career may not easily transfer to a work at home situation. If you work in the medical field or are a police officer, being a work-at-home mom or dad might not be an easy transition unless you are willing to change careers entirely. Sales and administrative positions transfer well, as do creative jobs like design and writing. For those in jobs that can’t make the work at home switch, you’ll have to think carefully about what you want to do when start working at home and start investigating that field.<br />
<br />
Cost is another important factor in deciding if working at home is right for you. Although many mothers start working at home to save on childcare, there are added costs to being a work-at-home mom. If you need health insurance, it will have to come out of your pocket instead of being paid by your employers. There are also many taxes that you will have to pay. Your record keeping must be excellent in order to keep track of your income and expenses, and to fill out your income tax return at the end of the year.<br />
<br />
Working at home with children is not always as easy as it seems. If you have young children that aren’t in school yet, it may be difficult to work when they are awake. This can mean lots of busy naptimes and late nights to get your projects done when they are sleeping. Family members can help take care of your children from time to time, but the responsibility of both your children and your job will be firmly in your hands. With older children, it is sometimes easier to work from home. But you will still have to start and maintain a fairly balanced schedule in order to get everything done. If you are homeschooling, you have to carefully schedule time for school and time for work, and be sure to keep to those parameters.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Individuals who work at home have to be very self-motivated and disciplined in order to get their work done on time and correctly. If you are the type of person that is motivated by outside factors (such as a supervisor), then working at home may not be your cup of tea. When you work at home, there is no one there to look over your shoulder and make sure that you are still working. Be realistic and you have to be even more disciplined if you work from home and not let what is going on around you be a distraction. Distractions like the television, Internet and housework can be hindrances to your work at home success. Conversely, working can prevent you from tending to the responsibilities of the home. Working is infinitely more stimulating to me than housework, and I find it difficult to carve out time to do the laundry or mop the kitchen floor.<br />
<br />
Isolation is another problem for work-at-home moms, in particular. Working at home alone can get frustrating and lonely. Make sure you are comfortable with spending time alone, and that you take steps to combat isolation. If you are especially prone to being depressed, then the isolation that comes with working at home may make you feel withdrawn and sad. Taking steps to combat loneliness is an important part of your work-at-home success. You may not be technically alone if you have children at home, but if your children are not old enough to have meaningful conversations with you, it may help to consider your work an opportunity to have that coveted "adult conversation" that you crave.<br />
<br />
After considering these factors, you may decide that working at home is not right for you. However, thousands of people deal with these drawbacks and still have successful work at home careers. These reasons should not stop you from working at home if that is really what you want to do.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-42409135434719217342010-12-22T09:19:00.000-05:002010-12-22T09:19:40.917-05:00A Quick Look at QuiBids<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PIP3MVBkLoE?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PIP3MVBkLoE?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
"Moderation and awareness is key," is the last line of this video. And ultimately it is the same for every auction site, penny or otherwise.<br />
<br />
I will actually be using QuiBids and will deliver a review after I have had a chance to check it out.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-13956978288324553812010-12-14T11:26:00.002-05:002017-01-09T20:26:04.949-05:00How Do Penny Auctions Work?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqr8LJWW2VRmnqPE0UBx1ZK4h49WhA0cYuKiG3DNibk637XP52V8Ap8S9JgYsGBHAFwm08nAAlsp3vhblz-7PMR_OqfCHjjO9nDPlr0drAvMeE2FZC2i4ow-HtZRX5g32PHo2r6g/s1600/pennyauctions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqr8LJWW2VRmnqPE0UBx1ZK4h49WhA0cYuKiG3DNibk637XP52V8Ap8S9JgYsGBHAFwm08nAAlsp3vhblz-7PMR_OqfCHjjO9nDPlr0drAvMeE2FZC2i4ow-HtZRX5g32PHo2r6g/s320/pennyauctions.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Welcome to a new series about penny auctions. I will be talking about the basics of how penny auctions work and taking you on a tour of some of the most popular penny auction sites over the next several weeks. I hope that when we are done you will have enough information to make an informed decision about whether penny auctions are even right for you, and which site or sites you will decide are the best fit for your auction style.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">How Penny Auctions Work</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b><br />
Don't make the mistake of thinking that penny auctions work like eBay. The only part of a penny auction that is slightly like eBay is when a particular penny auction site offers a "Buy It Now" option, and the similarity ends with the name. Not every penny auction site actually offers this option, which I will talk about in a minute.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
The most significant difference between penny auctions and regular bid auctions is that you have to buy the right to bid! This is accomplished by purchasing credits that you will use to bid. Credits vary in price, but may cost anywhere from 25 cents to 75 cents or more. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"> Many sites offer discounts if you buy packages of bid credits, and others offer a certain number of free bids to get you started.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">Most penny auction sites start each auction at $0, and every time there is a bid the price of the item goes up by $0.01. Depending on the penny auction site, the the increase in price could be anywhere from $0.01 to 25 cents every time a bid is placed. E</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">very time a new bid is placed, the time remaining in the auction is extended, typically less than 10 to 20 seconds. Some sites will add as many as 30 seconds to the clock and others have turbo features where only 5 seconds is added to the clock. The last bid before the clock runs out wins, just like in a regular auction. After you have won, you can pay immediately and provide your shipping information.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">Plundr, QuiBids and BidRivals offer a "Buy it Now" option. If you were bidding on an item you wanted badly enough to pay the full retail price, "BuyIt Now" could make sense for you. Some sites will deduct the value of your bids from the total cost of the item, giving you an instant discount. Let's say you bid 25 times on a $100 gift card. Your bids were $0.50 each, so that would be a total of $12.50 that you spent on bidding. In a "Buy It Now" scenario, you could purchase the gift card for $100 - $12.50, for a total of $87.50. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>The Total Cost</b></span><br />
<br />
With a penny auction, you could win a great item for a tiny price - but be sure you don't forget to include the cost of the bids when figuring how much you really paid. Let's take our example above of the $100 gift card. If you win the $100 gift card for $15, don't forget the 25 times you bid on it that cost you $12.50. That makes the total for your gift card $27.50 - still a fantastic savings, but an expense that is easy to forget about when figuring up your real costs and savings.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Your Best Strategy</span></b><br />
<br />
The best thing you can do for yourself is set a budget that you are willing and able to afford, and then stick to it. Don't bid on things that you don't really want just because they are cheap. It doesn't matter if you saved 75% on an item worth $500 if you cannot actually afford to spend the $125 + bids that you paid.<br />
<br />
If you create guidelines for yourself and stick to them, you can have great fun and save a boatload of money on products you might not ever consider purchasing otherwise.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-48959759303721133942010-12-11T14:29:00.001-05:002010-12-11T14:33:53.389-05:00Can You Trust Penny Auction Sites?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/TQPQNgiuIEI/AAAAAAAAATk/NyfmAHJgpdo/s1600/penny+auctions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/TQPQNgiuIEI/AAAAAAAAATk/NyfmAHJgpdo/s200/penny+auctions.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>It is a rare money-making venture on the internet that does not have plenty of articles about it with "scam" in the title. Even the most above-board direct sales company having impeccable management credentials is likely to have at least one Google listing for a "review" written by a disgruntled former distributor that trashes the company, products, management, etc. Still other articles are written about how anyone who ever supported (insert company name here) at any time is a scammer. The person who lost money never considers the possibility that he or she did not have what it takes to run a home business, even part time.<br />
<br />
While it is true that some are sincerely concerned about how easily people can be scammed on the internet (remind me to tell you about some of my own experiences!), still others use negative reviews to drive traffic to an article that prominently features a link at the bottom to their latest deal, urging visitors to "Check out a company where you can REALLY make some money!"<br />
<br />
Puhleeze. How much more, then, are penny auctions going to raise the scam radar of those watchdogs who live and breathe to tell you how you ought to spend your money? Their warnings are not just paranoia.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Penny auctions, like penny stocks, are HIGHLY SPECULATIVE. </span></b><br />
<br />
Let me repeat. HIGHLY SPECULATIVE. Even though auctions start at a penny, if you don't know what you are doing, you can find yourself locked in an autobid with someone having deep pockets, and spend way more on an item than you intended to.<br />
<br />
So what, you may ask? If I planned to bid on a Nikon Camera up to $100, and I end up getting it for $145 instead of $450, why does it matter about a lousy $45?<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Because penny auctions, like penny stocks, are HIGHLY ADDICTIVE.</span></b><br />
<br />
Let me repeat. HIGHLY ADDICTIVE.<br />
<br />
Particularly if you start winning.<br />
<br />
Have you ever turned 50000 shares of PennyStockFool.com at a penny into $2,500, or $5,000, or more? Then you know what I am talking about. The same kind of thing can happen with penny auctions. They produce the same kind of rush as horse racing, or high-stakes casino gambling. Worse still, since you are paying online, it is a little like Monopoly money. You may reason away an extra $2 on an inexpensive item. (What if I lose the item for the want of just $2??) You may reason away an extra $10 on an expensive item that you are paying online with a credit card, but those $10 overages quickly add up to an extra $100, or $200 or $500 if you are not careful.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Would you tear up five $20 bills and flush them down the toilet?</span></b><br />
<br />
Of course not. So why is it so easy to whip out a credit card and pay $100 for something you really don't need and are not going to actually turn around and sell on eBay for full price?<br />
<br />
I know this isn't the information you thought you were going to get in this article, but I wanted you to have a chance to think about whether you have the temperament to bid sensibly on a penny auction before I start talking about penny auctions in earnest.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you have the discipline to play them right, penny auctions can be a lot of fun, and a way to pick up great products at a fraction of their actual cost.</span></b><br />
<br />
If you have what it takes, watch this space Monday for a new series about penny auctions!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-10689387474067278232010-12-10T09:11:00.000-05:002010-12-10T09:11:37.177-05:00Everything You Need to Know About Penny Auctions<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bestpennyauctionwebsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/penny-auction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://www.bestpennyauctionwebsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/penny-auction.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">By now you must have heard about the latest online craze known as Penny Auctions that enables everyday people to buy top brand products at prices way below retail. These switched on buyers are involved in a new way of shopping called Penny Auctions, where bidders strategize and outwit each other to get unbelievable deals and save hundreds or even thousands of dollars off the normal retail price of top label items.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So how do Penny Auctions work?</span></b></span><br />
<div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">A prospective bidder signs up fpr a free account and purchases bids to use in the auctions. The cost to buy bids differs on each Penny Auction site, and is also different for each country. For example, in the US, a bid on a particular Penny Auction site might cost 60 cents, whereas visitors from New Zealand may pay 90 cents per bid. This is due to currency exchange rates. In the end, all visitors pay about the same amount for each bid. For the purpose of simplicity, all figures used here will be in US dollars. </span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">How much does it cost?</span></b></span><br />
<div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">Penny Auctions are different from standard auctions in that you do not necessarily bid what you think a particular item is worth. There are several auction formats, but the general idea is to try to bid as late as you can in order to be the top bidder when the countdown timer runs out. The winning bidder then buys the product for the Final Price of the auction, which is often hundreds of dollars below the retail price. Now and then the winning bidder can win a product simply by placing the last bid, and have nothing else to pay to get the product, not even shipping!</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">Auctions start at $0.00, and each bid bumps up the final price by 1 cent. So an auction that receives 50 bids will have a final price of 50 cents. </span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><br />
</div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">Auctions have a countdown timer, usually set to start at 10 or 20 seconds, depending on the Penny Auction site involved. The timer is bumped up by 10 or 20 seconds respectively each time a bid is placed. So that on an auction that begins with 10 seconds on the clock, if that timer has run down to 4 seconds and a bid is placed, the timer will be bumped back up to 14 seconds, and the countdown will resume from there.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">The auction ends when the timer reaches zero seconds and no more bids are placed.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What happens at the end of a Penny Auction?</span></b></span><br />
<div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">If you are the leading bidder at the end of a Penny Auction, you generally have two options.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">1. Go ahead and pay the Final Price of the item, as determined by the auction, at which point the product you bought will be shipped direct to you. In some cases, you do not need to pay anything, and your item will be shipped to you automatically;</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">2. OR, you can swap the item for more bids, and then bid for another item.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">Who is eligible to participate in Penny Auctions?</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">The specific terms and conditions of each Penny Auction site vary, but generally speaking the criteria on each site are pretty much the same.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Here are some general guidelines</b></span>.</span><br />
<div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">You need to be 18 years old or older and able to legally enter a contract. This is a standard rule for any online auction site. What this means is that if you are 17 years old you may not join, but once you turn 18, you may.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">Only people living in approved countries may bid. Most Penny Auction websites are only viewable in the counties where participation is allowed, i.e. The USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand plus others. For various reasons, some countries are currently excluded from most Penny Auction sites.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">Each Penny Auction site has their own rules for bidding, so make sure you read them prior to signing up.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>How to Keep Safe When Using Penny Auction Sites.</b></span></span><br />
<div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">As with any type of internet shopping, it is important to protect yourself when signing up to Penny Auction sites. Only join sites that specifically guarantee that they do not use any automated bidders to manipulate auctions, and also those that do not allow their own employees and their families from bidding in auctions. It is very important to protect yourself against scams. Sticking to the larger sites is the best way to do that.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;">So, next time you are thinking of buying some famous brand products on the internet but are sick of eBay, consider the benefits of using Penny Auction sites, and have some fun while you save hundreds of dollars on great products.</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><i>Guest Blogger: Michael Nunn is a former eBay user who now believes in the power of Penny Auctions.<a href="http://2bit.co/how-do-penny-auctions-work/"> For more information on Penny Auctions, visit 2bit.co - The Source of Everything</a></i></span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23431082.post-54249414757805116972010-11-24T14:35:00.000-05:002010-11-24T14:35:01.755-05:00A Thanksgiving Story: "See, I have told you ahead of time..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/TO1oScAZucI/AAAAAAAAATg/zgZSqlkKol4/s1600/weather-warning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/TO1oScAZucI/AAAAAAAAATg/zgZSqlkKol4/s200/weather-warning.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>"So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time." Mark 13:23 (NIV)</i><br />
<br />
Have you ever gotten a really clear warning from the Holy Spirit? Around Thanksgiving, I am always reminded of a warning I received, and the benefits of obedience. Even when it means an inexplicable change in plans that leaves you very disappointed.<br />
<br />
It was a week before Thanksgiving - November 16, 1989. Had we not obeyed, we would have missed a particularly spectacular instance of the Lord's protection and provision in our lives. In fact, we would have suffered serious loss.<br />
<br />
It has been 21 years since we moved to Robbinsville. We love it here, and it has been a great place to raise our kids. But about five months earlier, as we were investigating possible locations to move, we were not thinking of Robbinsville, but Ewing. After all, we only had one car, and that was close to my husband's work. So my reasoning was that I could drive him to work and have the car during the day. It was also near the West Trenton train station in case I wanted to go to Philadelphia, and not too far from Washington Crossing Park. And Robbinsville was out in the middle of nowhere.<br />
<br />
We were living in West Windsor at the time - paying way too much rent, and wanting to get away from there into our own place. And my preliminary investigation took me to a new condo community a mile or two up the road from my husband's office called Heritage Crossing. We liked it right away - it was just right for our little family of three. We walked around the property and looked at several models, then were escorted to the shells of several buildings where those models would actually be built. One of them was on the second floor of a building located all the way at the back of the property - beautiful wooded views from one side! They estimated that this building would be completed in the fall. <br />
<br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/TO1atZyDrTI/AAAAAAAAATc/_mTaVzuK9PA/s1600/heritage-crossing-outside.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DKLqcE4Syc4/TO1atZyDrTI/AAAAAAAAATc/_mTaVzuK9PA/s200/heritage-crossing-outside.png" width="200" /></a></div><i>A 2 bed, 2 full bath condo in Ewing, NJ (New Jersey). This is quite, simple community. All units come with a balcony and some over look a wooded area. This Beautiful, well maintained luxurious set of homes in Ewing, NJ is located in a very quiet area of the complex with great views from inside and out. Close to Trenton Country Club, West Trenton Train Station, D & R Canal State Park, Merrill Lynch, TCNJ, I-95 and Rt. 29</i></blockquote><br />
It was a more than we could afford, but we thought at least we could try. Real Estate prices were high in 1989, and there was a lot of "creative financing" going on for people like us who made less than $35,000 a year and had no savings to speak of. We put down a binder of $1500 and brought home the prospectus to see what we were getting ourselves into.<br />
<br />
I contacted the real estate company that was handling these condos and they referred me to a gentleman who assured me that we would be able to work something out. I had several great conversations with him, and true to his word, he arranged for a mortgage for us, taking into account good credit and a projected raise that my husband would be getting in the summer. It looked like there would be no problem being approved. We would be good to go, and able to move in as soon as the condo was ready. We were pretty excited! It was our dream come true!<br />
<br />
Now would probably be a good time to mention that we did not ask the Lord at all whether He wanted us to move to Ewing.<br />
<br />
It was my habit to stand at the kitchen counter and do just about everything. Talk on the phone, read, pay bills, pray. Whatever. I had read through the prospectus once. This particular morning I had some breakfast and coffee, and I decided that while my daughter was having her afternoon nap I would read through it again.<br />
<br />
When I picked up the prospectus, I began to feel vaguely uneasy. I thought I was having indigestion. I thought back to my breakfast and decided that I had not eaten anything that would cause such a feeling. Maybe the coffee was overly harsh...? Anyway, by the time I got halfway through the second section of the prospectus, my heart was pounding and I was beginning to have a churning in the pit of my stomach. Well, not exactly in my stomach. Not exactly anywhere that I could pinpoint.<br />
<br />
I continued to read, and it seemed that accompanying the churning was a very emphatic negative response to this prospectus. It was like someone was saying "NO! NO!" as I was reading. It was so much more extreme than usual that at first I did not recognize it as a "check in my spirit." I had experienced those before, generally while praying with other people who were able to help me discern what they meant, or during the reading of Scripture where something would jump out at me in a negative way that just happened to pertain to something that needed to change in my life, but that I didn't especially want to change.<br />
<br />
But nothing that made me feel like I was going to be physically ill. I called my husband at work. He was in a good mood and wanted to talk about how awesome it was going to be when we had our own condo. I was sweating. He was so happy, and I knew I had to say something that I was sure he was going to argue about.<br />
<br />
<br />
"This is probably going to sound crazy, but I think the Lord doesn't want us to move to Ewing."<br />
<br />
I braced myself for a tirade. What I got instead was almost as shocking as the initial feeling of turmoil.<br />
<br />
"Really! How come?"<br />
<br />
"Well, I have a check in my spirit. I have been reading this prospectus, and I have never been so miserable. It's like God is saying 'Absolutely not!'"<br />
<br />
"Okay," he replied cheerfully. Call and see if you can get our money back." End of discussion.<br />
<br />
Wait, what? "Who is this and what has he done with Don?" I thought as I hung up the phone. But as soon as the receiver clicked into place, the discomfort stopped. Just like that.<br />
<br />
In my regular phone call with Mama that evening, she asked how things were progressing. Ugh. She was going to think I was crazy. I had raved on about how great this was going to be, and now I couldn't think of a single excuse to give her. So I told her the truth.<br />
<br />
I don't remember the exact conversation, only that it was awkward. She didn't understand my certainty that it was a message from God rather than indigestion, but she didn't mock me, either. The subject dropped, and we didn't speak of it again.<br />
<br />
We did get our money back, and in October of 1989, we became the proud owners of a townhome in Robbinsville. The whole Ewing incident was long forgotten. Until November 17.<br />
<br />
The day before I had been at a small weekly prayer meeting at a friend's home, which broke up early because of some pretty serious weather developing. There had been some terrible stuff happening in Huntsville, Alabama the day before - a deadly tornado that killed 21 people. What we had was nothing like that. Big black clouds, high winds. The last of the leaves blowing off the trees. Limbs and power lines down. I was glad I didn't typically have anywhere to go on a Thursday night, but I certainly didn't fear for my life.<br />
<br />
The next morning I dropped my cup of coffee when I saw the front page of the Trenton Times. They almost never used color photographs, but in this case they made an exception. There, in living color, was the beautiful second floor condo we had wanted to buy with the wall blown out of it and scraps of someone's furniture and belongings hanging out of the gaping hole. Then a whisper, "See, I have told you ahead of time."<br />
<br />
I called my husband at work. "Have you seen the Times??" I asked breathlessly. He had not, and my demeanor frightened him, I sounded so crazy. "It's the condo, the Ewing condo. It got blown away by a tornado yesterday!" <br />
<br />
Only God could have known. I have had that "check in my spirit" a few other times since that day, and you can bet I have not ignored it.<br />
<br />
I cut out the article and sent it to Mama, with a Post-it attached that said:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." - Matthew 7:24-27</span></blockquote>After she died, I found the article in the night table beside her bed, stained and a little torn, fragile in the way old newspaper becomes when it is frequently folded and unfolded. A reminder of the goodness of God, and the reality of having a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
Take time this Thanksgiving to remember the goodness of God, and the many things you have to be thankful for.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://susancritelli.blogspot.com">Mixing Home Business and Home Schooling</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5